Ever since I drove behind the Westfield on a very bright summer’s day, I’ve been unhappy with the effectiveness of the brake lights. When the back of the car is lit up by strong sunlight, the body panels glow bright red, nearly matching the intensity of the lit brake lights. I investigated LED replacements, but according to reviews most of them are pretty useless. Sure, they react far more quickly than incandescent bulbs, but they are not as bright as the stock 1157 bulb and their illumination falls sharply off axis. One of the exceptions is the Genesis 48 LED 1157 replacement from Custom Dynamics (also available as the creatively spelled Radiantz 1.85” Replacement Clusterz). The reviews indicate that they are much brighter than 1157 bulbs and their 120 degree LEDs maintain an advantage at pretty severe viewing angles. Unfortunately they are a bit bulky and won’t fit behind the my Land Rover brake light lens without extensive and irreversible modifications. Bummer.

Recently I became aware of two new version of the Genesis/Radiantz replacement light: hard wired and a pigtail terminated with an 1157 base. It appeared that the latter provided enough flexibility that they would work with my light housings, so I ordered a pair of red LEDs from Custom Dynamics. Before committing to the change, I decided to do a side-by-side comparison with the new LED cluster in the passenger side light and the 2357 bulb (a marginally brighter substitute for the 1157) in the driver’s side light. I walked back about 20’ and then signaled SWMBO to hit the middle pedal. Wow! The LEDs were much brighter than the incandescent bulb. I then moved up about 15’ and over to the right by several feet until I could just see both lights. Even that far off axis the LED still held an edge.

Because I am using the version with the remote base, I had to find a way to affix the LED cluster to the bottom section of the light housing. I decided to use double-sided foam tape to make replacement easy should I ever have an issue with a cluster. The LEDs don’t produce any appreciable heat, so the tape should last a while and also provide a little cushioning to the LEDs which are sensitive to vibration. Although not cheap at $25/cluster, the LEDs are well worth the money.